Dr. Ben Carson, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary recently gave his thoughts on poverty and what he described at the root of the issue.
During a conversation with conservative media personality and friend Armstrong Williams, Carson reportedly described poverty as “a state of mind,” blaming the social condition on those afflicted’s mind state rather than lack of opportunities.
“You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee in a little while they’ll be right back up there,” Carson said. “You take somebody with the wrong mindset, you can give them everything in the world — they’ll work their way right back down to the bottom.”
Carson also stated that he feels certain government programs are designed to allow people to remain in poverty and are not helpful.
“I think the majority of people don’t have that defeatist attitude, but they sometimes just don’t see the way, and that’s where the government can come in and be very helpful,” Carson said. “It can provide the ladder of opportunity, it can provide the mechanism that will demonstrate to them what can be done.”
Dr. Carson has often credited his mother for helping him focus on his education and rise out of poverty. During the interview, he reiterated her influence on him.
“If everybody had a mother like mine, nobody would be in poverty,” Mr. Carson said. “She was a person who absolutely would not accept the status of victim.”
Of course, his remarks on poverty caused him to once again get dragged on Twitter, resulting in some funny but true posts.
Ben Carson said poverty is a state of mind.
Next month, I'm going to tell my landlord that I paid my rent with positive thinking!
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) May 24, 2017
Ben Carson's wife's wig be draped on her head like a lamp shade. Talking about poverty is a state of mind.
— 🐦 👑 🥂Genghis Kellz (@KMJeezy) May 25, 2017
https://twitter.com/1942bs/status/867591523403259904
Carson’s views on poverty couldn’t have come at a worse time, according to reports, The Trump administration plans on cutting more than $6 billion from HUD. The cuts would result in the end of popular grants used to revitalize economically distressed communities, as well as cut billions of dollars in funding for public housing support.
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